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Bluff
Let’s look at the mechanical abilities that Bluff gives you. Bluff is used primarily to tell convincing lies – to make what’s outrageous seem plausible, and what’s suspicious seem ordinary. Misdirection, fast-talk, disguises and forgery are all in the domain of Bluff. A Bluff check is opposed by an observer’s Insight check. The check could be opposed by multiple Insight checks, depending on how many observers can see and hear you and care about what’s going on. You can use Bluff to Feint an enemy in combat or create a diversion to buy yourself a moment to hide. Both of these events check against your opponents’ passive Insight. *Gain Combat Advantage: Once per combat encounter, you can try to gain combat advantage against an adjacent enemy by feinting. As a standard action, make a Bluff check opposed by the enemy’s passive Insight check. If you succeed, you gain combat advantage against the enemy until the end of your next turn. *Create a Diversion to Hide: Once per combat encounter, you can create a diversion to hide. As a standard action, make a Bluff check opposed by the passive Insight check of any enemy that can see you. If you succeed, make a Stealth check opposed by the passive Perception check of any enemy present. If the Stealth check succeeds against an enemy, you are hidden from that enemy until the end of your turn or until you attack. In a combat encounter, you can make a Bluff check as part of a move action to render an opponent flat-footed against any attacks you make before the end of your turn. Using a skill as part of a move action halves your movement for that round. In a social encounter, you can make a Bluff check when attempting to mislead your target about circumstances or capabilities. In either case, the DC is equal to 10 + the level of the opponent Bluff as Platform What activities tie easily to Bluff? Who are the types of people who train in Bluff? The Bluff skill is composed of primarily two aptitudes. The first of these is speechcraft. How quickly can your character come up with an answer to a question, be that answer truthful or otherwise? Politicians need that sort of ability. Does (s)he know words specific words to use or avoid that lend weight to the statement being made? Charlatans are good at this. The cad on the corner hawking the most recent potion made from ‘real, authentic hydra spit’ needs Bluff. The traveling diviner who tells people their fortunes (i.e. what they want to hear) for a modest, nominal fee is also Bluffing. Is (s)he knowledgeable enough in the subject matter to implant a kernel of truth within the lie to make it more believable? That’s the realm of the Imposter or maybe even the Spy, passing along just enough truth to retain believability while ultimately leading the target down the wrong path. The other aptitude involved with Bluff is body control. Control of the voice, the face and the breath; Entertainers need Bluff to act in theatre and maybe even for proper singing technique. The Gambler needs Bluff to play a straight face when the hand he’s holding is clearly a winning or losing hand. She might also be mixing Bluff with Intimidate to get in her opponent’s head and mess around. In a similar vein, Socialites find that Bluff helps you keep a straight face when spouting even the most inane sycophantic garbage. Lesser nobility may be using Bluff on a regular basis to jockey for favor among the greater houses or royalty. Those really good in Bluff might even be able to slow their heartrate or stop sweating making it an interesting and unique choice for Mystics or Sharpshooters. Are you one of the few out there who really misses 3rd Edition’s Autohypnosis skill? Bluff as Sense How is Bluff used as a sense? How do those trained in Bluff see/process information? It’s very likely that the master of Bluff is a predator. He looks into a tavern and knows quickly who’s naïve and who’s been around the town a couple times. There are marks and then there’s everyone else. Scoundrels who’ve been caught a few times (or perhaps never at all!) also know where the authorities might be and how to avoid them. If not a hunter, the Bluff specialist has something to hide from someone and is never fully comfortable. Where are the exits? How can I use this terrain to my advantage? Those trained in Bluff should be able to perceive this freely. Bluff as Social Skill Besides being good liars, masters of Bluff can probably smell their own, so it seems reasonable to let Bluff substitute in for Insight from time to time, probably with a slightly higher DC. Since Bluff is also about body language, it seems like Bluff should be a reasonable default skill for sign language or just communicating with gestures, particularly if your party doesn’t have access to the ‘Speech Without Words’ Martial Practice. Many cats have ranks in Bluff, but their primary use of the skill differs somewhat from the standard. Also, felines have developed a skill called Handle Humanoid, which allows them to manage the humanoids they keep as servants and pets. Both the new skill and the specific new use of the Bluff skill can be used only by felines with ranks in the skill. Bluff (Cha; Trained Only; Felines Only) New Use: "I Meant to Do That!" Whenever you fail a Balance, Climb, Jump, or Perform check, you may immediately (as a free action) attempt a Bluff check opposed by the Sense Motive checks of any witnesses. Success means you fool the witness into believing that you meant to achieve the outcome that occurred; failure indicates that the witness knows you did not achieve your actual goal. This use of the Bluff skill is largely a matter of pride for most felines. A successful Bluff check has no game effect on a failed Balance, Climb, or Jump check, but it does enable the feline to ignore the increased DC of a subsequent Perform check against the same witnesses. Handle Humanoid (Cha; Trained Only; Felines Only) Handle Humanoid is the cat's version of the Handle Animal skill. You can use this skill to make a humanoid obey commands or perform tricks it knows, such as scratching your ears properly, fetching food, waving a feather toy for your amusement, opening doors on your command, and the like. The skill can also be used to teach the humanoid new tricks. Check: The time required to get a particular effect and the DC for the check depend on task attempted, according to the table below. Task Time DC Handle a humanoid Varies 10 "Push" a humanoid Varies 25 Teach a humanoid a trick 1 week 10, 15, or 20* *See the specific trick, below. Handle a Humanoid: This usage of the Handle Humanoid skill involves getting a humanoid to obey your commands or perform a trick that it knows. For instance, commanding a humanoid to open a door requires a successful Handle Humanoid check (DC 10). If the humanoid has taken damage (specifically hit point, subdual, or ability score damage, or some combination thereof), the DC increases by +5. Handling a humanoid requires a move action. If the check is successful, the humanoid performs the task or trick on its next turn. "Push" a Humanoid: Pushing a humanoid means getting it to perform a task or trick that it doesn't know but is physically capable of performing. This usage of the Handle Humanoid skill requires a full-round action. If the check is successful, the humanoid performs the task or trick on its next turn. Teach a Humanoid a Trick: You can teach a humanoid a specific trick, such as "come" or "feed me" (see below) with one week of work and a successful Handle Humanoid check. You must spend half that time (at the rate of 3 hours per day per humanoid being handled) teaching the humanoid before you make the skill check. If the check fails, you cannot teach that trick to that humanoid. If the check succeeds, you must invest the remainder of the time required to complete the training. If the time is interrupted or the training is not followed through to completion, any further attempts you make to teach that humanoid the trick automatically fail. A humanoid can learn a maximum of six tricks. Possible tricks include, but are not limited to, the following. The DC for the required Handle Humanoid check appears after the name of each trick, in parentheses. Come (DC 15): The humanoid comes to you, even if it normally would not do so. For example, you can command it to follow you into a dangerous alleyway. Defend (DC 10): The humanoid defends you, or is ready to defend you if no threat is actually present. Feed Me (DC 15): The humanoid acquires and serves food on command. Feed Me Gourmet (DC 20): A humanoid previously taught the "feed me" trick can be retrained to serve only the choicest, most palatable foods. (This trick replaces the "feed me" trick in the humanoid's trick repertoire.) Fetch (DC 15): The humanoid goes and gets something for you. Open! (DC 15): The humanoid opens a door, window, portcullis, or other sealable aperture at your command. You need not pass through it thereafter. Perform (DC 15): The humanoid performs a variety of simple tricks for your amusement, such as waving a feather toy or dragging a string around. Retry: Yes. Special: You can use this skill on a monstrous humanoid or giant, but you take a -5 penalty on the check. Such a creature can learn the same number of tricks as a humanoid can. Untrained: An untrained feline can use a Charisma check to handle and push humanoids but cannot teach them tricks. Category:Skills